CAMBRIDGE SANCTUARY CALLED A SLAP AT REAGAN'S POLICIES

A lead supporter of a new measure making the home of Harvard University a self-proclaimed "sanctuary" for Central American refugees said Tuesday the action is a protest against Reagan adminstration policies.

But an official of the Immigration and Naturalization Service warned that the "sanctaury" status, passed by the city council Monday night, would not hamper the agency's efforts to find and deport illegal aliens.

"It is an attempt to establish a climate of opinion," said Cambridge City Councilor Francis Duehay of the measure. "Statements and symbolic actions are a way of creating a positive climate that eventually can lead to real change."

Duehay said the Reagan administration has been liberal in its granting of political asylum to refugees from communist countries, but rarely gives the same right to Central American immigrants.

The measure makes the city an "official sanctuary" for illegal aliens from Central America. It also directs city employees not to offer help to federal investigators searching for illegal aliens.

"The idea is not to cooperate in deporting because of the fact the vast majority are here from countries where there is political persecution," said councilwoman Alice Wolf, who co-sponsored the resolution.